On climate change scepticism...

Excerpts from the transcript of an American Association for the Advancement of Science symposium. If you find those interesting go to the transcript and audio at the Science Show

Riley Dunlap on climate change sceptics as authors:

Back in the '80s there were only a couple of years, in the '90s we miss a few years, sort of a reasonably consistent flow and we get in the 2000s, and there's just been an explosion in these books quite recently. If we do it by decade it jumps out at you more. We've jumped up to 64 books espousing some version of climate change denial since 2000. Several of these books are bestsellers. On Amazon, you find them in Borders, Barnes & Noble, Hastings, they're carried by the Conservative Book Club, they reach a large audience. Now, the key issue; how many of these books are linked to conservative think-tanks? It turns out to be 78%. What you see here originally almost all were. I'm going to give you some insight into where these come from.....

Okay, now we get some insight here. We now distinguish between natural science PhDs, a PhD in another discipline, and no PhD. What of course you can see is the lowest connection to think-tanks are down here among people without PhDs. In addition, a main source of books these days are self-published books, Author Press et cetera, Author House, I think it's called, anyone can publish a book. And another thing that's going on is a lot of these books are self-published and these are the folks who aren't affiliated with the think-tank. I found one, a retired real estate agent in British Columbia, he started writing books after he retired and he decided to do one on climate change because it's a hoax et cetera.

William Freudenburg on those anti-science websites and vested interest think tanks:

Usually at a AAAS meeting when there's any talk about the connections between science and society it's in the old framework of public understanding of science. How well is the information getting to society? There's less attention to what some sociology and philosophy of science people have written about, about how scientists are affected by society. When you get outside of the halls of the AAAS, there's plenty of attention, especially in the United States, and it's almost all bad: JunkScience.com, which was set up by someone who used to fight the so-called junk science on cigarette smoking; American Thinker...they lie; ClimateSceptic.com, ClimateSceptics.org, which looks a lot like Wikipedia, doesn't it.

Then blizzards happen and of course we conclude from this...Inhofe is out there building an igloo...that if it snows in Washington DC that proves that the global climate is getting colder. You've got some very conservative outlets that pick up the trope and repeat it that scientists are hiding evidence, and eventually it quite often gets into relatively mainstream media such as CNN. 'Is this a trick or is this the truth?' And you find a few important scientists saying that every error exaggerated the impact of change. That's a testable hypothesis.......

And you heard from Dr Dunlap that that campaign is going on today.

Some of his other research that you didn't hear about, an earlier study he did with Jacques and Freeman, found 141 books expressing scepticism about anything environmental. And in that earlier study, 92% of the books were from conservative think-tanks. And this is not by any subtle way of doing the math, either the author worked for it, they published it, or both. In essence, there would not be a so-called scepticism literature if it were not for the work of some well funded, hard working, skilled in PR, conservative think-tanks.

Stephen Schneider on the scientist as sceptic:

So we're going to talk about the issue of scepticism. I'm going to start right out now; what's the difference between scepticism and denial? There's no such thing as a good scientist who isn't a sceptic. I changed my opinion in 1970 from cooling to warming, published it first, it's one of my proudest moments in science because we found, as the evidence accumulated, that there were a number of reasons, it's all explained in chapter one of Science as a Contact Sport, and I still have to hear things from those famous climate professors, the ones that publish all the papers in the referee journals, professors Limbaugh and Will, you know, about how... 'Oh Schneider, he's just an environmentalist for all temperatures', it's a great line!....

The purpose in the advocacy world is to win for the client or the ideology. In science that is a quick ticket to not getting funded, not getting promoted and not getting your papers accepted. So you don't start with a level playing field because the two epistemologies of advocacy and science are so diametrical that it therefore is actually career counterproductive for scientists to try to act in the same behavioural way that the opponents do.

if god's away on business who's looking after il pappa?

In Rome it must feel as though the Christian god has taken his eye off the latest incumbent in that long dynasty of power-hungry old men, as the media unearths more and more about Pope Benedict's failings in relation to the pastoral care of his flock and his alleged protection of paedophile priests.

Bad news keeps be made public despite the best efforts of some Catholic laity to counterattack.
Last week the Canadian media and at least one blog Catholic Culture were reporting:

Seven Ontario bishops and Cardinal José Sanchez, the prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy, were aware by 1993 that the secretary-general of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith had committed sexual abuse, according to a February 1993 letter from the bishop of Pembroke (Ontario) to Canada’s apostolic nuncio.....
By 1993, however, Bishop Windle had become aware that there were four or five victims. In his letter to Archbishop Carlo Curis, who served as apostolic nuncio to Canada from 1990 to 1999, Bishop Windle urged that Father Prince not be given a papal honor or promoted to the episcopate, noting that such a move could prompt victims to speak out publicly.

In Australia Cardinal George Pell is rather unnaturally silent for one who loves the media spotlight, but then he is thought to have a similar inadequate history in matters of pastoral care.
A spokesperson on his behalf has accused the Herald Sun of running an inquisition.

Rather alarmingly, it seems the Vatican never learns for it is rumoured that Rome intends to send Pell to Ireland to help restore confidence in the Irish Church after the paedophile scandals there. Pell himself also appears to have been the alleged subject of at least one sexual abuse complaint in the past and, even though that complaint was not proven it does leave his proposed intervention open to alternative interpretations.

1985 Letter to Oakland Bishop John S Cummins, signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, concerning a then 38 year-old priest who is reported to have plead guilty in 1978 to misdemeanour charges of lewd conduct for tying up and molesting young boys in a church presbytery:

Most Excellent Bishop

Having received your letter of September 13 of this year, regarding the matter of the removal from all priestly burdens pertaining to Rev Stephen Miller Kiesle in your diocese, it is my duty to share with you the following:

This court, although it regards the arguments presented in favour of removal in this case to be of grave significance, nevertheless deems it necessary to consider the good of the Universal Church together with that of the petitioner, and it is also unable to make light of the detriment that granting the dispensation can provoke with the community of Christ's faithful, particularly regarding the young age of the petitioner.

It is necessary for this Congregation to submit incidents of this sort to very careful consideration, which necessitates a longer period of time.

In the meantime your Excellency must not fail to provide the petitioner with as much paternal care as possible and in addition to explain to same the rationale of this court, which is accustomed to proceed keeping the common good especially before its eyes.

Let me take this occasion to convey sentiments of the highest regard always to you.

Your most Reverend Excellency

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger

Bishop Cummins letter to the then Pope John Paul II:

DIOCESE OF OAKLAND

VOTUM EPISCOPI

Most Holy Father:

I wish to present the petition of Father Stephen Kiesle for laicization. He wishes to return to the lay state and to be relieved of all the obligations of the priesthood, including celibacy.

Father Kiesle was born on February 14. 1947 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended elementary school in Lakewood, California and San Lorenzo, California. He entered St. Joseph's High School Seminary in 1960. Upon graduation he entered St. Patrick's College Seminary in 1964 and began his theological studies at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park in 1968. Father Kiesle was ordained on May 19, 1972 at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral by the Most Reverend Floyd L. Begin, Bishop of Oakland.

It does seem clear, now, with hindsight, that quite probably Father Kiesle should never have been ordained.

He has experienced a variety of psychological, emotional, and sexual difficulties during his pri"esthood. In August of 1978 he was arrested by the police and charged with having taken sexual liberties with at least six young men ranging from eleven to thirteen years of age during the period of November 1971 through May 1978. When he appeared in court, Father Kiesle pleaded "nol o contendere" to the charges. He received a three year suspended sentence and was to remain on probation for three years. He was to meet regularly with his probation officer. He was not to be alone with any juvenile, nor was he to work with any juveniles without an adult being present. He was also required to register with the police department of any city in which he would be residing. It was during this period of time that Father Kiesle took an extended leave of absence.

Unfortunately, from the time of Father Kiesle's first court appearance there was a great deal of publicity surrounding his conduct. Lengthy news reports appeared in all of the major newspapers in the San Francisco Bay Area. as well as throughout California. Some of the publications also printed pictures of Father Kiesle. As a result his case and alleged wrong-doings received maximum publicity exposure. Some of the newspaper accounts were able to obtain rather specific details of his conduct from the police report. Father Kiesle has been in psychiatric therapy since this difficult situation first became public in August of 1978. He still continues to see a therapist on a regular basis.

I would credit Father Kiesle with great cooperation in seeking out psychiatric help when asked. On the other hand, his dealings with me as expressed in his own statement unearthed for me the problem he had with authority and obedience. I had arranged with two neighboring bishops to provide employment in special assignments for him outside of pastoral ministry during the months that he would be in thereapy. He adamantly refused to consider these although later, on his own, he took a temporary assignment in one of those same dioceses. I felt obliged to poi'nt out the inconsistency of his judgment.

I prevailed on one of our excellent young priests to provide him a home with some possibilities of limited work. That assignment carried on for many months but it was obvious that there was no development either in work or in any other interests. I feared the wasting of time was profoundly detrimental to a man of his age. At the time, therefore, that he did procure a job of reasonable support, I asked him to take a year away from the parish and assume responsibility for the managing of his own life. That decision, as hard as it was, seems to have been very beneficial to him. I believe it has contributed much toward his present resolution of his life.

Given all of the circumstances surrounding this case and Father Kiesle's irrevocable decision to leave the active ministry, it would seem to me most prudent that his petition be granted. Therefore, since all of these things are attested to in the Acts of the case, it is our opinion that this case should be submitted to you with the petition that Father Stephen Kiesle be relieved of all of the obligations of the priesthood.

Given at the Chancery of the Diocese of Oakland this 19th day of June in the Year of Our lord 1981.

John S. Cummins

Bishop of Oakland

Broken Rites list of 117 Catholic priests, religious brothers and seminarians who have been sentenced in Australian courts since 1992.

UN judicial official suggests trial of Pope for 'crimes against humanity'

Richard Dawkins: I will arrest Pope Benedict XVI

Round the Yamba traps listenin' to Macca mumbles....

Maud on Maccas.....Maud up the Street tells me that if McDonald's does manage to get a 24/7 hamburger factory going in Yamba it's patrons will be extra lucky - there's an ambulance station just across the street.

Only in a small town like Yamba....is it possible (after a Facebook page is created with thousands of fans in the first couple of weeks) that someone who knows you well threatens to tell your mother!
# f**k maccas get kfc ha ha jokingg March 26 at 2:52pm
# I am goin to tell your mum you said that!! You know she wouldnt approve of you eatin maccas or kfc!! March 26 at 4:13pm

Daily Examiner editor issues another public invitation to NSW Premier Kristina Keneally

Last Friday The Daily Examiner editor, David Bancroft, expressed an opinion shared by many on the NSW North Coast:

IT'S a pity NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell had not arrived on the North Coast a little earlier yesterday to inspect the section of Pacific Highway between Ballina and Coffs Harbour that we believe needs urgent and major upgrading.

If he had, he would have been able to see for himself the carnage that happens all too regularly on this section of highway.

Sadly, another person lost their life on the highway yesterday and lives will continue to be lost until the entire section of the highway is divided carriageway.

Currently the NSW Government has no plans - at least for the next five years - to make any large sections of the highway in this area divided.

And while it remains undivided, vehicles will continue to crash head-on and innocent people will continue to die.

Mr O'Farrell missed his plane yesterday and arrived hours late for his tour. But at least he arrived.

The same cannot be said of the Premier, Kristina Keneally, who is still to accept an invitation from four North Coast mayors to join them on a tour of the highway.

Yesterday Mrs Keneally was in Dubbo opening the headquarters of the State Water Corporation.

There is no doubt the Premier is a busy woman and that there may have been a long-standing commitment to open the headquarters.

But the mayors have left their invitation completely open-ended and will agree to meet the Premier anytime that suits her.

Being Premier involves more than smiling photo opportunities ... sometimes it means getting out and facing some of the more problematic issues in the community.

And there can't be anything that is a greater problem then people dying needlessly on our roads.

Come on Mrs Keneally, it's time to come and have a look at the highway for yourself.

Man dead after car, truck collide The crash happened on a straight section of the Pacific Highway on an overtaking lane near the Iluka turn-off last Thursday.

A reminder of why whaling in the Antarctic is not scientific research

Photograph of Migaloo from The Sydney Morning Herald

From the Humane Society International website in 2006:
The bulk of the evidence against Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha comes from the Japanese Government's own reports to the IWC on its scientific research program. The Japanese Government submits JARPA Cruise Reports and Research Plans to the International Whaling Commission for their information.
From these reports HSI has calculated that since 2000, Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha has openly and illegally killed over 1300 minke whales within the Australian Whale Sanctuary.

It is possible that of the 505 Antarctic minke whales killed in Antarctic waters in 2006-07 by the Japanese whaling fleet, 262 of were pregnant females, while it is suspected that one of the three fin whales killed was also in calf. The New Scientist reported this week that; The three whaling nations [Japan, Norway and Iceland] now kill around 1600 whales a year.

An estimated 679 minke whales and 1 fin whale were killed by the Japanese whaling fleet in Antarctic waters in 2009, allegedly for scientific research but in fact purely for commercial sale.

Many of the whales harried and hunted by the Government of Japan and its whaling fleet are those whom we Australians have carefully shepherded out to sea when they have come too close into shallow water, have disentangled from netting, have reunited with a their pod, or simply looked happily on as they swam up and down our coastlines in many thousands of years old migration patterns.

Now with America's connivance and at the whaling nations' insistence, the International Whaling Commission looks as through it is going to endorse a ten-year suspension of the international ban on whaling to allow nations like Japan to continue rape and plunder the oceans at will with impunity. Migaloo the white humpback whale (who once again successfully completed his Australian east coast migration in 2009) and all his cetacean kind are in danger.

Chair's Report to the Small Working Group on the Future of the IWC

Song knowledge is thought to transfer from male whale to male whale evolving over time in a similar fashion to verbally transmitted tribal lore in the world's oldest continuing culture, indigenous Australians. A YouTube video recording of The Oceania Project whales and their songs.

Clarence Valley Review finally catches up with the rest of the world

Teh Clarence Valley Review finally catches up with the rest of the world and posts some of its recent editions online here. I'd been waiting so long that I'd stopped checking this local rag's website and twas sheer chance which saw me light there this week.

Burger Off! The Westlawn Group Shame File

Every big developer operating in Australia, particularly foreign multinationals, has an enabler.
Sometimes in is the federal or state government of the day, some times local government or a landowner, sometimes a paid lobbyist and, sometimes it is all five.

The McDonald's Australia Ltd move to establish a 24 hour drive-through and eat-in fast food outlet in the small coastal town of Yamba at the mouth of the Clarence River is probably being eased into being by three out of five of these categories.

Professional Public Relations Pty Ltd (PPR) continues to support the fast food giant's image and lobby government on its behalf.

Almost every Clarence Valley shire councillor who has bothered to make a statement in relation to the development application has opened the door wide enough for later weasel-worded retreats and a vote for this highly inappropriate proposal and, Clarence Property Corporation Ltd (part of the Westlawn Group) as owner/manager of the land to be developed is quite happily supporting McDonald's.

Now in this day and age it is hard to shield individuals having control of land behind a corporation blind. Indeed its the fashion these days for them to trumpet their identities.

So here are the men responsible for allowing McDonald's a foot in the door in a town in which many of the residents are opposed to this glorified hamburger joint's entry:

Peter Fahey Executive Managing Director

James Dougherty Non-Executive Chairman JimD@westlawn.com.au

Geoffrey Shepherd Non-Executive Director

Michael Dougherty Non-Executive Director MikeD@westlawn.com.au
Peter Burge Portfolio Services Director
Paul Rippon Chief Financial Officer & Company Secretary

It is doubtful that McDonald's Australia would be proceeding this year if it were not for these individuals (who can justifiably be described as predominantly out-of-towners) placing the company's bottom line above the best interests of a coastal community.